Fill My Empty Room With The Sun


Marjorie Fair are an LA based four piece whose debut album Self Help Serenade has been rocking my hi-fi. They are named after a rose variety. They craft dreamy, shoe gaze-y California pop rock - think Grandaddy, Neil Young, Mercury Rev or The Church. One of my record store employee friends gave me a freebie CD single of the tune Waves. This song had me from the opening drum beats, and got even better in the next few seconds when that gorgeous guitar riff chimes in. It's so melodic and lush and yet a bit scruffy at the same time. I liked the plaintive vocals of singer/song writer Evan Slamka, and felt the music too. I knew I would dig the rest of the album so I picked it up the following week. I like it a lot. I like Empty Room a lot too. It is one of the slower, more melancholic tunes. The BBC review of the album sums it up perfectly - "The personality of this record is one with a vulnerable heart which is easily bruised, but is also positive and kind." It's also interesting to note that it features performances from a few cool guests - sound track composer and Beck co-hort Jon Brion is credited with a few different instruments and "various custom sounds", and drummer Jim Keltner and killer keys man Billy Preston show up on Hold On To You. A lovely end-of-summer rock record, and a pleasant surprise to this listener.